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brendan hannan

A little over a year since the Fire/Quaker Oats partnership began and just days before the Chicago Fire challenge the New England Revolution on Opening Night at Toyota Park (Saturday, March 9 at 6:30 p.m. CT live on NBC Sports Network), we stopped by the Quaker Oats headquarters to check-in and see how the club’s iconic jersey partner was preparing for the 2013 season.

From the looks of things, the partnership is really starting to make an impact...

A quiet hangs over Toyota Park. A grey monochrome colors the morning sky and a slushy snow blankets the ground. It’s winter in Chicago.

Behind the brick façade and deep in the bowels, a solitary figure works diligently to make-ready one of Toyota Park’s most renowned features – the field. It’s been 99 days since the Toyota Park pitch saw action and Toyota Park Turf Manager Eric Adkins has #cf97withdrawals.

While the Chicago Fire is one team, the squad currently consists of 27 players each with a different origin, starting point and story of how they arrived at Toyota Park as a Fire player. As part of the club’s partnership with Quaker Oats, we present Journeys – an in-depth look at each player’s path to Chicago.

In the second part of the first edition we sat down with Ghanaian midfielder Patrick Nyarko to better understand the shape of his journey as an academics-focused part-time soccer player on the gravel fields of Kumasi, Ghana to a MAC Hermann finalist at Virginia Tech and his eventual transformation into one of the most dangerous attackers in Major League Soccer.

During the race for the 2012 MLS Rookie of the Year award there has been a lot of chatter. Who ranks where and what is valued more from fresh-faced rookies - Goals? Assists? Saves? Defense?

Adapting to MLS can be a challenge. It’s a long season fraught with ups and downs, the speed of play is accelerated, often as a central defender you are up against a striker with class skills and experience to match.

For Chicago Fire defender Austin Berry it isn’t about the rankings or the hoopla, it’s about putting in the work needed to help the team.

Berry has made his way onto a Life cereal box.

While there has been PR to support the rookie defender who has started 27 matches for a 17-11-5 Fire team that has only allowed 40 goals in 2012.

The real truth of the matter has been Berry’s play. Through his efforts alone, Berry has cut through the clutter, letting his game speak for itself…

While the Chicago Fire is one team, the squad currently consists of 27 players each with a different origin, starting point and story of how they arrived at Toyota Park as a Fire player.

As part of the club’s partnership with Quaker Oats, we present Journeys – an in-depth look at each player’s path to Chicago.

In the first edition we sit down with Ghanaian midfielder Patrick Nyarko to better understand the shape of his journey as an academics-focused part-time soccer player on the gravel fields of Kumasi, Ghana to a MAC Hermann finalist at Virginia Tech and his eventual transformation into one of the most dangerous attackers in Major League Soccer.

Stay tuned for part 2 of Quaker Journeys with Patrick Nyarko next week.

Bring the Fire, the club’s 2013 season ticket renewal program, isn’t all fun and games as you might expect.

As you know, the club has been sending a group of spirited individuals to houses in the Chicagoland area and surprising each season ticket holder with a gift for renewing their tickets prior to November 1.

In coming up with the idea, we may or may not have borrowed the name of our merry gang from a certain Publishers Clearing House group that rhymes with “Size Parole”.

Seeing as we are law abiding citizens here at the Chicago Fire, and we didn’t want to let down all those supporters who are hurriedly rushing to renew their season tickets so that the team with Sparky, balloons and big checks would potentially come to their house we have decided to rename the “Eyes Condole” as the, wait for it…

RADICAL REWARD FOR RENEWING YOUR CHICAGO FIRE SEASON TICKETS PATROL

We may or may not have had to overdub a few of the videos to appease some fancy lawyers in New York.

You never know, maybe the RADICAL REWARD FOR RENEWING YOUR CHICAGO FIRE SEASON TICKETS PATROL will show up to your house next.

With the 15th Anniversary of the Chicago Fire coming up on Wednesday (the match) and Monday (the date proper) the Fire has collaborated with Bumpy Pitch to create a Chicago Fire themed shirt that represents the history of soccer and Chicago in a unique way. The Municipal Device shirt will retail for $30 in the Chicago Fire Fan shop and online at www.bumpypitch.com beginning Tuesday, October 2 with $5 benefitting the Chicago Fire Foundation

While the 1871 at the bottom of the shirt is an obvious nod to the Great Chicago Fire (and, well, the club’s name) not as much is known about the Y-shaped municipal device, an often overlooked and mostly forgotten piece of Chicago Civic Pride. Below I wax poetic about the municipal device and what this t-shirt means to me.

The Chicago River weaves along the wings of the urban landscape, dodging the looming steel towers and keeping composure as it splits to hug both sides of Goose Island. The deft waters feint past defending bridges, quickening pace when the terrain declines. The North Branch does not hesitate as it approaches the Loop, diving headfirst into the westward Main Stem of the river, deflecting south, flowing as one.\

In commemoration of the iconic river intersection, Chicago created the municipal device - a Y-shaped symbol representing the three branches converging at Wolf Point. The mark, embedded throughout the architecture of Chicago, is subtly engrained throughout the city – on the cornerstones of civic buildings, the undersides of bridges and etched into the consciousness along Navy Pier. Although it began as a simple show of two waterways uniting, its meaning has transformed in today’s Chicago.

Over the last 200 years, waves of immigrants have splashed upon the shores inhabiting Chicago’s many neighborhoods. On summer evenings, communities spread cultural pride as street festivals fill the lakefront air. Just as two branches of the river come from wide expanses to join together, the citizens of this city, representing four stars and one badge, become one under the Chicago name.

Below, the Fire coaching staff, captain Logan Pause and forward Chris Rolfe model the new t-shirts in front of the "Tradition. Honor. Passion." taglines in the Fire locker room...

Here at Always on the Inside we get a ton of fan mail (feel free to send some over! – 7000 S. Harlem Ave. Bridgeview, IL 60455) with all sorts of content ideas and things we can do to improve our fair blog. We recently got this piece of fan mail from a Sandy Hannan in Denver, CO:

Dear Jeff,

Love the blog. Long time listener and a huge fan of your work.

Thanks for always keeping us informed about everything happening in Chicago. I think of everyone who writes for Always on the Inside, you provide the most insight and really help us get to know the team.

I’m a big music fan and would love to know more about the players musical interest. What kind of stuff are they listening to right now? Can I find the tunes anywhere?

Hope all is well. I’ll send some snacks your way soon.

Toodles,
Sandy

Wait? Was that a letter from my Mom? Since Jeff is busy with some #Fire15 stuff, I thought I’d take a crack at putting together a music series. Each week Always on the Inside is going to focus on three tracks/albums that a #cf97 player is listening to currently. Put the tracks between your headphones with Muve Music, if you’re so inclined. For the first addition we caught up with aspiring rap lyricist and resident beat-bopper Tony Walls. Without further ado, here’s Between the Headphones:

Always on the Inside: What type of stuff are you listening to right now?

Tony Walls: The first album is "Self Made Vol. 2" which is by Maybach Music Group which is headed by Rick Ross and two of his most popular artists -Meek Mill and Wale.

Overall, it's up tempo with really nice beats, something to bob your head to and stuff that you can play not only before training but also before games. They're really clever and good with wordplay.

Another track is "Take Care" by Drake, even though it is older. I would have to say Drake is one of my favorite artists right now. He does a really good job, I know it sounds corny, painting a mental picture and an image in your head when he's rapping. A lot of the situations he talks about, I can relate to actually. Not just with women, but with growing up.

He does a really good job of talking about his childhood and struggles he went through with his parents. I can relate to his music and he can sing. He has a really good voice.

I'm also listening to Meek Mill, who I mentioned before. His mixtape is called "Dreamchasers 2". I like Meek Mill because, similar to Drake, he raps about a lot of day-to-day situations. He's all about motivation and staying focused toward the goals you want reach in life, which is important to me and relevant to where I am right now.

That mixtape is one of my favorites right now. The lyrics are easy to listen to and he has a smooth flow.

AOTI: What do you get out of listening to music, especially these albums?

It's not necessarily to escape reality. It's something to get you amped up, pumped up before a game. I think that's why a lot of people listen to music. You do get lost in the music. A lot of music paints a mental image.

AOTI: What did you listen to growing up?

TW: I've always been into rap music. My neighbors, who were like older brothers to me got me listening to it. I've always liked Biggie, he's one of my favorite artists. I've always been surrounded by it growing up. I'm not close-minded to other music, though.

I listen to a little bit of Gavin DeGraw, a little bit of Lauryn Hill. My little sister is really musically diverse so she got me on a little Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber. So I try to stay open-minded, but rap is my first choice for sure.

It’s the application of creative expression – a darting run through three defenders on the way to goal or a bespoken three-piece suit and snappy pair of socks.

The list of sartorialists has ranged from the free-wheeling, large collars of George Best, the measured dapperness of David Beckham and Pep Guardiola’s mastery of the sweater, skinny tie combo.

Perhaps the intersection of soccer and style can be attributed to the fact that soccer jerseys can be worn out and about and not just on the field of play. The effervescence of canary yellow against the background of caipirinhas and drum circles, the stark white simplicity of the Three Lions in the corner of a dingy pub or the brightness of the Oranje walking along a path of the Vondelpark in Amsterdam. (Note: I’ve tried to rock my 1995 purple Damon Stoudamire Toronto Raptors jersey in public – not a good look).

In what other sport are Cristiano Ronaldo’s short shorts so widely revered (see www.kickette.com) and detested? Who but Gigi Buffon, an Italian goalkeeper, could make a snood (fancy word for neck scarf) a fashion statement?

In this edition of Touchline TV, we tag along with Fire midfielders Corben Bone and Daniel Paladini to Chicago’s Trunk Club (www.trunkclub.com) to see how style takes shape and pick up a few helpful hints on how to match our shirts and trousers.

Hopefully this helps us at Always on the Inside become cool (er, cooler?).

Not to get all bookish on you when you’re trying to get your blog on, but the definition of art (when you Google it, we couldn’t find a dictionary lying around) is stated as – the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination. Or, works produced by such skill and imagination.

When evaluating the above definition it is easy to find the same beauty in a darting off-ball run to the near post as Boticelli’s Birth of Venus. Skill and imagination (and teamwork) are ever-present in a Diego Rivera mural as they are in a series of combination passes that lead to a goal. A well-struck, perfectly placed goal can evoke a similar reaction to seeing van Gogh’s Starry Night for the first time.

For the second consecutive year, the Chicago Fire teamed with Arte y Vida to put together an event combining art and soccer with the proceeds benefiting the Chicago Fire Foundation. Fire defenders Dan Gargan and Gonzalo Segares and 20 others displayed original works proving that soccer permeates all aspects of our city, encompassing varied views and opposing opinions.

Touchline TV caught up with Gargan, Segares and Chicagoland artists to get an (Always on the) inside look at the art, the inspiration and Bob Ross.